CFP: Electrifying the City: Spaces and Places for Electricity in Twentieth Century Britain Conference

CFP: Electrifying the City: Spaces and Places for Electricity in Twentieth Century Britain Conference

Call for Papers: Electrifying the City: Spaces and Places for Electricity in Twentieth Century Britain19 November 2011University of Leicester

This one-day conference, organised jointly by the British Society for the History of Science and the Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester, aims to bring together scholars working across a range of disciplines to consider the spaces and places for electricity in 20th century Britain. Electrification was one of the most significant infrastructure developments of the modern era. It transformed the landscape and industry of 20th century Britain and, to an even greater extent, transformed the home and everyday life. A powerful emblem of modernity and urban civilization, electricity was a key element in recreating Britain as a ‘warfare’ as well as a ‘welfare’ state, to use David Edgerton’s terms.

Submissions are invited for papers that address this theme from a social, economic, cultural, technological or political perspective, or which seek to integrate these approaches. While our focus is on electricity in urban places we welcome submissions that address how the changing locations of electricity production impacted on the relationship between rural and urban spaces. Submissions from postgraduate students are particularly encouraged and we hope to be able to offer travel bursaries to participating postgraduates. We intend that one outcome of this conference will be the establishment of an informal network of researchers with an interest in this field.

We invite submissions for 2 types of presentation

20 minute papers, to be followed by questions, based on ongoing research

10 minute new research/researchers papers to outline your project and get feedback from participants